Taiwanese company Ennostar will begin making Mini-LED backlight units for the upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Pro at the end of the first quarter or second quarter of this year, according to industry sources announced by DigiTimes.
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Ennostar is a proprietary company founded in January 2021 by affiliated manufacturers of LED Epistar and Lextar Electronics.
Apple is expected to unveil the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Mini-LED backlighting in the first half of this year, with Epistar serving as the only dedicated supplier of Mini-LED chips packaged into backlight units by Lextar, the report says. This schedule has been rumored several times, with some reports narrowing release to the first quarter, so it’s possible the new iPad Pro will be introduced in March.
The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro is also expected to feature a faster A14X chip and support for 5G networks on models with a cellular connection.
It’s unclear whether Apple plans to introduce a new 11-inch iPad Pro at the same time, as many rumors have surfaced of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro only. One possibility is that Mini-LED backlighting will be limited to the 12.9-inch model, with the new key features of the 11-inch model limited to the A14X chip and 5G support, but it’s not clear .
Apple is also likely to adopt Mini-LED backlighting for new MacBook models unveiled in the second half of this year, according to the report. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo plans to launch new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models in the second half of 2021 with a new design, HDMI port return and SD card reader, removing the classic Touch Bar. MagSafe charges with breakable power cable, and more.